This invention relates generally to a solar motor system, and more particularly to such a system having a rotor in the form of a substantially hollow wheel that rotates under the influence of a weight imbalance created by shifting liquid within its hollow interior.
Various devices have been proposed for converting heat energy to mechanical energy through the alternate vaporization and condensation of volatile liquids. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,911,456. That device involves one or more pairs of bulbs in fluid interconnection and containing a volatile liquid. One bulb of each pair is shielded from solar energy, while the other is exposed to solar energy. The exposed bulb becomes heated and forces the liquid through an interconnecting passage to the other bulb thereby creating a mechanical imbalance and causing rotation of the device. U.S. Pat. No. 3,509,716 to Avery discloses a thermal engine in which a plurality of tanks are arranged in a circumferential path. Opposite pairs of the tanks are interconnected by fluid passages. The circumferential array of tanks is mounted for rotation in a vertical plane and the tanks contain a volatile liquid. The lower tank of each pair is heated at the bottom of its orbit and the upper tank concurrently cooled by a water spray. The heated liquid in the lower tank vaporizes and rises through an interconnecting passage to the upper tank, where it is cooled and condensed. The contrasting presence of liquid in the upper tank and vapor in the lower tank results in an imbalance in the structure which causes it to rotate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,534 to Morgan discloses a thermodynamic motor comprising a plurality of diagonally opposed pairs of tanks mounted on a rotatable frame. A diaphragm separates each tank into inner and outer chambers, the inner chambers of opposing pairs of tanks being interconnected by a conduit. A fluid is carried in the inner chambers and conduit and there is at least one radiator communicating with the outer chamber of each tank. A volatile liquid substantially fills each radiator. The radiator of the lower tank is at least partially immersed in a heated liquid at the bottom of its orbital path to volatilize the liquid therein. The resulting vapor pressure distends the diaphragm in that tank, forcing the fluid from the inner chamber of the lower tank to the inner chamber of the opposing tank to create an unbalanced condition which causes rotation of the motor. U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,517 to Compton relates to another thermal engine for converting heat energy into mechanical energy. This engine has a rotor with a main shaft suppoting a plurality of vapor chambers communicating with a condenser across appropriate check valves and rotary valves to form a closed loop system. A liquid in the vapor chambers is vaporized and discharged as a high pressure gas to the condenser, then returned as a liquid to the rotor, thereby imparting rotational movement to the rotor.
All but one of the above-mentioned prior art devices involve rotors with oppositely positioned containers or tanks in which volatile liquids are confined. Rotational movement of the device is, in each case, caused by the vaporization of a liquid and subsequent imbalance of a rotor structure through actual transfer of the fluid from one tank to another or through action of the vaporized fluid on a diaphragm which, in turn, causes rotor imbalance.